La Vida esta Rica

Dear Family, 

This week has been just craziness! They took out some elders and put in some sisters so we had to go and teach them there area and investigators and members so we pretty much weren’t in our area for two days and we slept on wooden boards because they didn’t have any more mattress ha-ha so that felt really great I woke up filling like I got out of a hard football game ha-ha. 

And then we had to go and do splits and teach a couple of missionaries in different areas and go off and help move sisters to a different house  we probably only worked in our area on for a day it was ridiculous but god blessed us for, these sacrifices and we baptized}!!! It was a straight up miracle his name is Rolando he is 17 years old and a good guy we literally found him on the day of interview asked if he was worthy he was we took him he passed and got baptized I don’t know how but it happened and it was awesome. God is a God of miracles if you have the faith for them. 

 To answer dads question we do A LOT of training every week because everyone in or zone is training and we have the biggest zone in of all of the mission so the blessing just keep on coming  so we have to see how that is going so we always have splits and reunions every week with the leaders and missionaries. 

To answer mom it is starting to rain here and you know how it rains here in Guatemala just rivers ha-ha I love it and people just look at a tall gringo and a short little Latino running their butts of in the rain and just thinking what the ha-ha I love it 

But our house isn’t terrible it’s a little small but we are going to be moving next week before changes to a house that is pretty sweet we also have been having rat problems....it’s terrible those things are straight demons so we are happy to be leaving because there are three!!  But it is more rural then urban it’s close to the capital but also the coast so it’s a little different. But my companion Elder Guzman is great I love Latinos there a lot different but he is good we like to joke around a lot together I have learned that your companion is there to help you relive your stress and support you. 

I have been learning a lot with how to work with people we have been having reunions with the stake presidency and with our mission president and with both together!! That is when it is crazy but an awesome experience on how to see how to work and what it is that they do in a stake our stake is by far the most organized stake I have seen here in Guatemala it is really cool to be a part of. 

It incredible the things that you learn in the mission that prepare you for future things in life  

But I love you all till next week

Elder Toma 

Guatemala Ciudad Central Mission 

Zoological

Dear Family, 

Well this week we had success as a zone we completed the goals that we put for baptisms so that was refreshing ha-ha. We just pray that we can complete them for the whole month it’s been a fight for the last couple of months with everybody being new but we are really trying to teach the new generation how to do everything efficient but always the two most important principals for missionary work will be diligence and obedience with exactness there is nothing more important than those two. 

We have been teaching that over and over again so that they get converted to that I know that I have only seen the success that I have seen is because I was willing to go a little bit harder talk to a little bit more of people and strive to be as obedient as possible and the miracles just come like for this week we had three baptisms two from a less active that we reactivated and the third form a straight miracle of a friend that just simply invited her to go to church I have a strong testimony that the key to missionary work is the members we need more members that are willing to stand up and take a stand and proclaim their faith and beliefs and invite others to participate in it if we all did that we would be having more success and more members with stronger testimonies and deeper conversions than before that’s why the apostles and prophets have always been inviting all to be participants in this great work like joseph smith said when all is said and done the most important task at hand is to proclaim the gospel.

I really loved the talk that by Elder Ringwood about being truly good without guile and how is main theme was of ordinary people doing things great things without getting recognition and what he said exactly is something that I try and put into practice myself in a world where praise, position, power, accolades, and authority are sought on every side, I honor those wonderful and blessed souls who are truly good and without guile, those who are motivated by a love of God and their neighbors, those great women and men who are “more anxious to serve than to have dominion

 I honor those who selflessly serve each week in wards and branches around the world by going above and beyond in fulfilling callings. But callings come and go. Even more impressive to me are the many who without formal callings find ways to consistently serve and lift others. One brother shows up early for church to set up chairs and stays after to straighten up the chapel. One sister purposely selects a seat near a blind sister in her ward not only so she can greet her but also so she can sing the hymns loudly enough that the blind sister can hear the words and sing along. If you look closely in your ward or branch, you will find examples like these. There are always members who seem to know who needs help and when to offer it and I have been thinking aloud how calling do  come and go but always being a son or daughter of God with his children and being a follower of Christ or missionary for that matter  does not. 

But I don’t have more time to write so it will have to wait till next week ha-ha 

People need me. 

Love 

Elder Toma 

Guatemala Ciudad Central Mission 

What's up?

Dear Family,  

This week has been a crazy week we had our leader meeting in the house of president did you guys ever have to do it?? I love it we go to the house and just eat a lot of good food and joke around with president its the best meeting for me by far in the mission haha. 

It has been a trying week for the mission not just for the zone we had as a zone half of what we reported but even worse our zone baptized half of the missions baptisms for the week which is a all time low.  It is worrying us a lot as leaders partly its because more then 70% of the zone has less then a year and that is a huge difference in experience so they just don't know as much as how to work but also the obedience and diligence has gone down a lot.  

It was really cool to hear my former mission president be called as one of the counselors of the young men presidency (I started to freak out and scream) But I knew he was going to be a general authority he just has power about him. And the most important thing he taught me is the power to be obedient with exactness diligent and always have a unshakable faith and how you will should never be satisfied but always aiming higher and giving your all always. 

Me and my companion taught that to the missionaries in our zone and it seemed to be helping them all and we are hoping that this will give them the fire that they need to start destroying it in there missions. 

That really is the secret to how i have always had success where ever i have been I pray like everything depends on God and I work like everything depends on me and even if i would have to suffer or wait a little bit on him he always has provided.

This week me and my companion baptized 2 miracles we baptize a young women named Abigail who is the third in her family we have baptized and the other is named Mabilie who's parents died but her grandma is a member we didn't even know we just started to talk to her we taught her  and we just baptized her hah i love miracles like that that only come from obedience. 

For the God of Israel is a god of Miracles but he can only do them through the our faith. 

I loved General Conference it answered everyone of my questions as well that i had and more!! 

But I love you all keep praying for the work of the lord that it can keep moving forward we are making temples in places that seem I'm possible and we have a

lot more to go till it will cover the whole earth so we need to baptized even more!!

Elder Toma 

Guatemala Ciudad Central Mission 

April is Coming

Dear Family, 

This has been a stress packed week we had 10 dates as a zone for baptisms but all excepts 4 fell that was hard we ended up getting the lowest amount of baptism since i think last year in this zone and the stake is going down hill with problems which is really effecting us. i learned a lot this change about being humble and to stay positive and cheerful especially the ones you are having to lead I learned that one from the prophet Joseph apparently even in some of the darkest point in his life he would still be happy and cheerful and have a glow about him and I have really been striving to have that in my own life even if everything around me is colliding and it is making a difference. 

For this week we will be having 10 baptisms as a zone and 2 of them will be from us we had the blessing of baptising last week as well we found a young girl that her parents are members but were less active we have now reactivated them and she got baptized. So things are looking up I have learned like Ammon never to boast in my own strength but in the strength of God for as King Benjamin said if we were to work with all of our souls we would still be weak servants he only ask us to be obedient and give it our all and he will do the rest and that is all I have ever seen in my mission because I have seen and done things I know i never could do with out his help.  

That actually gives me a lot of comfort haha because I don't want to just rely in myself it stinks and you just ended up with a lot of headaches but i am definitely learning a lot in this last couple of changes. And I can feel it a little bit in my body just always aching and the pains of waking up just wanting a little bit more  and just always being tired almost falling asleep in lessons but I always remember the example of the Savior and how he was tired and in pain but the difference is he still gave it his all everyday so I'm trying my best  to do the same. And I have felt something pushing me and giving the strength i need to just go so hard that you get back to the house absolutely destroyed from the day and falling asleep while praying because your just so done haha i love it. And I always feel good because I know God knows I'm giving all i got. 

But I love you all please keep praying for the zone that we can complete our goals and that we can be as diligent and obedient as possible to be worthy of these blessing and miracles. 

Elder Toma 

Guatemala Ciudad Central Mission